Ballon d’Or: Messi, CR7, Van Dijk renew rivalry

Lionel Messi, Christiano Ronaldo and Virgil van Dijk have been named in a 30-man shortlist for the 2019 Ballon d’Or.

The trio were among the nominees revealed by France Football on Monday evening.

Also in the list are premier League stars Sergio Aguero, Sadio Mane and Hugo Lloris.

They were joined by Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong and Ajax’s former Southampton schemer Dusan Tadic.

Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold have also been included in the 30-strong list, as have Barcelona keeper Marc-Andre terStegen and Ajax midfielder Donny van de Beek.

There is a place too for Paris St Germain’s World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe.

Also included are Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva, Spurs striker Son Heung-min and Bayern Munich’s Poland international frontman Robert Lewandowski.

Five-times winner Cristiano Ronaldo is also included on the list, as is his former Real Madrid team-mate Karim Benzema and current club colleague Matthijs de Ligt.

Liverpool pair Alisson Becker and Georginio Wijnaldum join fellow Champions League winner Mane among the candidates.

Full list

Sadio Mane, Sergio Aguero, Frenkie de Jong, Hugo Lloris, Dusan Tadic, Kylian Mbappe, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Donny van de Beek, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Cristiano Ronaldo, Alisson Becker, Matthijs de Ligt, Karim Benzema, Georginio Wijnaldum, Virgil van Dijk, Bernardo Silva, Heung-min Son, Robert Lewandowski, Roberto Firmino, Lionel Messi, Riyad Mahrez, Kevin de Bruyne, Kalidou Koulibaly, Antoine Griezmann, Mohamed Salah, Eden Hazard, Marquinhos, Raheem Sterling, Joao Felix.